Pet Store Perks
by JustaFriend97
Summary: AU. It was just any ordinary day for Hiccup. That is, until a girl looking for a new pet walked into the pet store. OneShot. Hiccup/OC


**Pet Store Perks**

Hiccup knew it was going to be a long day when he arrived to work this morning. It was almost lunchtime and not a single person has entered the pet store. He sat by the registry with his headphones in and his music blasting. His black bearded dragon, Toothless, lounged on the counter by Hiccup's fingers. He was equally as bored as his master.

Before Hiccup could get up to grab Toothless some crickets, the front door's bell rang. Normally Hiccup wouldn't think twice about turning to the door, but this time he did. There standing in front of the door was a timid girl who looked like she was having a huge debate in her head or constipated.

In the end, the girl took a step toward the puppy section of the store. He could already hear some of the puppies barking and calling her attention. Hiccup grabbed Toothless and placed him inside his shirt's pocket. He might as well head over there cause for sure this girl was going to be buying a new puppy.

However, when Hiccup arrived at the puppy section, key in hand, the girl was nowhere to be seen. "Wonder where she went off to?" Hiccup asked Toothless as he scratched the back of his head. The boy looked around the store and saw brown hair disappear toward the other side of the store, the bird section.

Those birds would not stop screeching. They were placed in a big cage where they could fly around, but not one of them would stop screeching. If she was heading to the bird section, this girl might need him to catch one of them for her. He inwardly groaned as he realized how difficult catching a flying bird would be.

Hiccup went back to the counter to grab a cage for the girl in case she did want to get a girl, but when he got to the bird section, the girl was gone. "Where did she go this time?" The birds kept on screeching while he heard Toothless chirp as if to say he didn't know. Hiccup placed the cage back and began to roam around the store for the girl.

He wondered why he was following the girl around. He usually wasn't interested in the customers walking in and out of the pet store. But this girl was making his run around the whole store. Maybe it was because it was such a slow day. That's it. He was just eager to get on his feet. He wasn't doing anything else but sit behind the counter.

Hiccup didn't find the girl until he was by the fish section. She was staring intently at one of the clown fishes, but she didn't tap on the glass like any other customer would. She was just staring. But then the fish swam away. The girl puffed out her cheeks in annoyance and crossed her arms.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" asked Hiccup. He might as well use the line that was drilled into his head to talk to this girl.

The girl whirled around in surprised with hands raised like a karate move. Hiccup couldn't help but smile at the girl. She had long wavy brown hair that went mid back and bright blue eyes that seemed to mesmerize Hiccup. A light blush painted her cheeks as she straightened herself. Her eyes were down-casted in embarrassment. She shook her head. "No, thank you. I'm okay. You're probably busy anyway."

Hiccup smirked at the girl. She looked to be a year or two younger than him, definitely not in high school because if she was, she should be in class at the moment. "Well, lucky for you, I don't have much to do at the moment. I don't mind help you for a bit."

"Oh, okay. If you're not busy, then I guess it's okay." She tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear as she played with the strap of her purse.

"Cool. Now what do you need?" asked Hiccup.

"I'm actually looking for a pet. I'm not sure what kind yet since nothing had caught my eye," explained the girl as she turned back toward the fishes. The next tank held several goldfishes that kept swimming around.

"Well, goldfishes aren't that hard to take care of. All you need to do is feed it and clean its tank once in a while."

The girl shook her head. "I don't want an easy pet. I want a pet that's more of a companion than a decoration to be honest."

"Oh, well have you checked out our puppy or kitten section? Most of the puppies and kittens are strays we've rescued. A lot of people usually adopt those."

She shook her head again. "I don't want an annoying pet. I want a pet that's calm and won't bother me for attention."

"Have you tried a bird? They don't need that much maintenance. Just a large cage to fly in or I know some people let them fly around the house. Just make sure to keep all windows closed."

Another shake. "I don't want a pet that would leave me in a heartbeat. I want a pet that will stay and keep me company."

This girl was difficult. If she didn't want a fish, puppy, kitten, or bird, then what did she want? Those were the top choice of pets most people would adopt. She kept looking at him with those doe eyes as if expecting him to magically solve her pet problem.

"Oh my god, what is that?" She was looking at him with wonder and pointed at his chest. There nestled on his shirt pocket was Toothless who was staring curiously at the girl.

Hiccup reached into his pocket and pulled out his lizard. "This is Toothless. He's a bearded dragon."

"That is the cutest thing I've ever seen!" she exclaimed while admiring Toothless.

Well that's a first. Whenever a girl saw Toothless, she would immediately demand somebody to kill the "gross lizard". Which would explain why Hiccup has been single for twenty years. That, and he wasn't really the type of guy a girl would go for.

"Do you have anymore?" she eagerly asked.

"Yeah, we have a reptile section right over here." Hiccup led the girl toward the lizards while she trailed close behind him. When they arrived, she turned into a little kid who just arrived at the candy store. She ran from terrarium to terrarium touching the surface and breathing onto the glass. Hiccup is going to have to clean the glasses later.

"This one!" Hiccup walked over to where the girl was pointing at and saw nothing. He tried to look around for the reptile but he couldn't find it. He looked at the note under the terrarium and noticed that it was one of their few chameleons.

"Do you see where it is?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah. It's right there. Can't you see it?" The girl pointed by the leaves, but Hiccup still couldn't see a thing. He squinted a bit closer and finally found the chameleon's eyes moving around.

"Alright. Let me get him for you." Without hesitation, Hiccup reached into the terrarium and grabbed the chameleon. He could feel its skin on his fingers. He was the only one in the pet store that would bravely reach into the terrarium to grab a reptile without using gloves. He's always had an affinity for reptiles. He placed the chameleon into the girl's waiting hands. Her smile widened as she kept petting the chameleon who blended into her skin.

"Aw, isn't she such a gem?" Then her eyes lit up. "Gem. That's her name."

Hiccup grinned at her and started grabbing a reptile starter kit for her. "Awesome. Let me just grab some stuff for you and I'll ring you up right away." If the girl heard him, she probably ignored him since she was so engrossed in petting her new chameleon while walking to the cash register.

At the register, Hiccup scanned the starter kit after typing in the code for the chameleon. "I also added a cup of crickets for Gem. Remember she needs to be fed at least twice a day and if you run out of crickets, just come back here and I can hook you up with some more."

The girl looked up from her new reptile and flashed him a smile. Hiccup felt his chest pound from that smile alone. "Thank you so much. I wouldn't have found her without you." She reached into her purse and gave him the exact amount.

"Don't mention it. That's what I'm here for. I'm Hiccup by the way."

"Hiccup. I'm Dahlia. It's nice to meet you." Dahlia opened her purse and carefully placed Gem in one of the pockets so that her head poked out. "Thank you again." The girl grabbed her bags and headed for the door.

Before the bell could ring Hiccup called out. "Hey Dahlia. Um, I was wondering if you, and I mean you don't have to, but I was wondering if you, uhhh…"

Her cute giggle cut him off. "Hiccup, I'm headed to that café next door for lunch if you want to join me."

Hiccup grinned and called to his manager that he was going for his lunch break. He made sure Toothless was in his pocket before opening the door for Dahlia. Maybe working at a pet store had its perks.

* * *

This is an apology story for all my followers. I haven't been on in a while cause I've been so busy with school and work and everything has been so overwhelming. Please forgive me and please leave a review!


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